


Buffy the Brave

by cosmiceverafter



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes' Beagle, Animals, Buffy the Vampire Slayer References, Fluff, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-02 02:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21154394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmiceverafter/pseuds/cosmiceverafter
Summary: Alex wanted to make a small difference in this little dog's life. What he didn't expect, that his life and heart, would be transformed forever.





	Buffy the Brave

**Author's Note:**

> I was so inspired by the news of Alex Manes' actually getting a beagle next season, that I knew fics would soon be on the way. When I saw that Carina said the dog's name is "Buffy," well, that added another layer of excitement for me. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my favorite show growing up, so I was definitely inspired. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The first time he saw her, she was sitting out on his porch. It startled Alex to see the little face looking up at him.

The beagle didn’t have a collar and looked too thin for his liking.

When he tried to go over to her, she backed away slowly with her head down. The thought of why she cowered away from him made him sad; she didn’t seem to have known a lot of love in her life, and humans were sometimes something to be afraid of. She was old enough to have been through a lot.

When his father came to mind at that moment, he nodded without saying a word as if to silently translate: _believe me, I get it._

He had tried one more time to get a bit closer and she ran off into the woods.

The next time, Alex was putting something into his car getting ready to go into town, when he saw her nervously poking her head out of the bushes next to the cabin. He had whistled and patted his thighs, but again, she backed away, disappearing in the trees.

Alex decided it was time to let the dog know that not all humans were monsters. He went into town and bought some dog food. Alex put that and a dish of water on the porch and went inside.

He had sat there looking through the window, longer than he would have liked to admit, but he was anxiously waiting for her visit. After some time, she slowly came out from the trees once more and slowly looked around. When there was no threat, the beagle walked around sniffing the ground.

Alex smiled as he watched the dog stick its butt up in the air, black nose to the ground. Beagles were known for their good sense of smell. Alex wondered if she could smell _alien_….

Finally, the beagle made her way to the porch and found the food. She sat and ate for quite a while. Then she plopped down. The sun was setting and maybe it was the way the light hit her fur, but at that moment, Alex knew she had found a home.

He knew he had to slowly earn her trust though. So every night, he had continued to put food out, and every morning it would be gone. He even got a soft bed for her to curl up on at night.

She would never let him get too close to her though. But at this point, he knew she was a stray or worse, abandoned by her family, an experience he knew all too well.

One night, the weather turned for the worst. It started as just a wind storm, but quickly the hail began to fall in what seemed like buckets of golf balls. The thunder rumbled the ground and lightning lit the sky like spiderwebs.

Alex kept looking outside, hoping to see the beagle. He was worried about her in the storm.

He was bending down to light a fire when he finally heard it—_a howl._

Alex quickly made his way to the cabin door but opened it carefully to not scare the dog. Slowly but surely, he opened it up to see that little face staring up at him. The dog was trembling in the cold and he moved aside and held the door wide open.

The beagle sat there hesitant at first, so he waited patiently. He backed away from the door and sat on the couch to give her confirmation that it would be safe to enter.

The thunder crashed again and the dog whimpered softly.

“_Come on,_” Alex said calmly. “Please come inside.”

The next thing he knew, little paws clicked on the wood floor as it made its way in. The dog shook the water off its fur and slowly came all the way inside.

Alex smiled and pulled a blanket off the couch and onto the floor. After a few moments, the dog went over and circled a few times before curling into a ball by the warm fire.

Slowly, Alex made his way into the kitchen to get it some more food. He put it by the blanket and closed the door.

They sat this way for a while, but the dog never seemed truly content. The thunder was just too loud. Louder than he’d heard it in a long time. It shook the cabin and everything inside it.

He was able to see that the dog was a girl, without getting too close. He had sensed this as much. Alex noticed as she kept getting up and would pace the cabin, before sitting down again.

Alex wanted to do something to take her mind off of the storm. He clicked on the old tv he rarely watched, and her silky long ears lifted slightly.

As he flipped through the channels, she seemed uninterested and still unsettled.

Finally, he found a channel with old reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Alex smirked, he had loved this show growing up. He always wanted to be a badass like _the slayer_. And well, the men on the show were beautiful. They always made his heart flutter. Each character had inspired him, but none as much as Buffy herself. She’d literally gone through hell-and-back. If she could handle hell on earth, well he had thought _so can I._

He settled on the couch and watched the episode where Spike had entered the high school and Buffy was trying to keep everyone safe, including her mother. Alex got so into it, he hadn’t even heard the patter of paws.

Alex looked down to see the beagle on the side of the tv. She was actually watching the show!

Every time Buffy kicked a vampire’s ass, the dog would wag her tail. She stayed like this for a while and every time a commercial came on, she looked over at him as if to say _really?_ “That’s unfortunately out of my hands, girl. But it seems like it’s a marathon!” Her tail wagged again.

So the two of them sat there, watching hours of Buffy. They watched the funny episodes like when the characters couldn’t remember who they were because of Willow's spell; the creepy episodes like the one where the town loses their voices and the floating men take their hearts; and even the sad episodes like the one where Buffy loses her mom _(the dog gave a little whimper at that one)_. But even though it had been hours of watching this show, she never moved away from the screen, only to lie down as she watched.

She finally seemed content and at peace.

The storm had finally ended and neither had noticed. Buffy, it seemed, kept them brave and got them through it, especially the dog.

_Buffy the brave_…

Alex’s eyes widened, “Hey,” he said softly, “_Buffy?_” The beagle turned around and wagged her brown and white tail as she tilted her head slightly. “How would you like to _stay_... and...um, watch some more?”

Buffy, _as the name seemed to stick_, surprised him by jumping up on the couch and curling into his body. She was warm and soft. He could feel the steady beat of her heart. She was calm and seemed happy at last. Now _he_ finally felt at peace. So content.

“_Welcome home_, my brave girl.” And as she licked his face, he knew she was going to _slay_ his heart forever—in the best possible way.


End file.
